Principle of Superposition of Gravitational Forces
The principle of the superposition of gravitational forces states that the total gravitational force on any object is equal to the sum of individual gravitational forces acting on that object. In other words, the net gravitational field at a point is the vector sum of the gravitational fields at that point due to different sources and is given as:
where is the total gravitational force on an object, , , and are independent forces acting separately on that object.
Universal Law of Gravitation
Universal Law of Gravitation or Newton’s law of Universal Gravitation as the name suggests is given by Sir Isaac Newton. This law helps us to understand the motion of very large bodies in the universe. According to this law, an attractive force always acts between two bodies that have masses. The strength of the force is directly proportional to the mass of the object and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
In this article, you are going to read about everything related to Universal Law of Gravitation including its definition, what Gravitational Law states, weight vs. Gravitational Force, etc.
Table of Content
- What is the Universal Law of Gravitation?
- Universal Gravitation Equation
- Vector Form of Universal Law of Gravitation
- Principle of Superposition of Gravitational Forces
- Newton’s Law of Gravitation from Kepler’s Law
- Weight and Gravitational Force
- Universality of Gravity
- Importance of Universal law of Gravitation
- Solved Examples
- FAQs